Life and Death
by Adrian Tyndall
Summary: After Kuyou's defeat, our heroes restore the barrier separating monsters and humans, supposedly making it infallible. However, this creates more problems than they realized. The events set in motion could have dire consequences on Saren and Mizore, and they have to strike a delicate balance between life and death. Rated M for Language and Violence. Continuation of Ice and Snow.


**[1]**

There were plenty of decorations in the small, one-room apartment. Pictures of friends, trophies, newspaper clippings, or sometimes whole newspapers. Most of the pictures were of her friends, taken during their time together in school. Pictures from a ski resort, or from various tourist castles in the human world.

None of these decorations, though, were as prominently placed as the single, black feather. It lay by itself on the desk against the wall. The blue-haired girl looked it in an almost contemplative manner, uncertain what to make of it. _I recognize it… I know who it belongs to. But why did I find it there…? Was he trying to reach me? What does he want?_ She frowned as she began to recall the events of that night.

_They stood in the same park where, just a few days before, Saren's father had summoned Origin and recreated the barrier now keeping this world safe. The night was quiet, with stars partially obscured by clouds. Saren had noted it'd be better to make the journey at night because of the lack of passersby._

_The human world had largely been vacated of monsters, with the heads of several monster clans summoning their kin home to discuss punishment for this blatant violation of the human world. The humans had begun to rebuild their homes, choosing to believe that a natural disaster had claimed so many of their homes and jobs, rather than admit the existence of monsters. "So for once, their ignorance works in our favor," Ruby had said. "For now, at least. I'm sure it will become more difficult in the long run, once the monsters decide the time is right for reveal ourselves to humanity. There will be a lot of hard feelings to sort through."_

"_Will you all be alright?" Saren asked, frowning._

"_We'll manage," Kurumu said. "None of us are in trouble, after all. I'm pretty sure we'll be fine. You two need to get going, though, or you'll be in trouble."_

_Mizore turned back to face her friends and smiled at them. "I'm going to miss you all," she said._

"_We'll miss you too, Mizore," Ruby said. "We'll see you in a couple of decades, though. Now get going."_

"_Don't forget about us," Yukari said. "We'll all be seeing you in the future."_

_Kurumu walked up to Mizore and wrapped the snow fairy up in a hug. "Take care of yourself, Mizore. I hope for the best for you both," she said quietly._

_The succubus retreated, but stopped when she saw something on the ground. A single black feather had caught her eye, one that she'd seen a few days before. She picked it up, holding it close to her as her best friend vanished, going off to spend the rest of her life with the man she'd chosen to be her one and only._

Kurumu sighed as the memory of that night came back to her. She was beginning to know how Mizore had felt all those months ago when she thought her friends had abandoned her. Ruby and Yukari had gone back to the monster world, accepting full-time teaching jobs at Youkai Academy. Gin and San were still working to restore order to the monsters who had crept into the human realm. Tsukune had gone back to Moka. And Mizore was in the future, finally starting on her dream, as far as anyone knew.

Which left Kurumu here, on her own in a one-bedroom apartment that seemed to large for her anyway. Still, there wasn't much she could do, and she'd never seen the use in whining about her misfortunes. She was still alive, which meant she had an advantage over many others. But in being alive, she knew she still had a mission to complete. She had to find her destined one, and fall in love, for that was how she would continue to live.

She looked down at the feather one more time, trying to contemplate its meaning, but could come up with nothing. Sighing, she rose and got ready to leave. Unfortunately, she still had a job, because she had to pay for this apartment somehow.

He floated in the silent night, held aloft by black angelic wings. He watched the blue-haired girl quietly, uncertain of what to do should she turn and look his way. It held a sort of thrill for him, knowing her power and what she was capable of, and yet he refused to move. He had to admit that he was fascinated by her. She'd been the only one able to see through his illusion. He wanted to know more about her but…

But he was afraid. There was nothing else for it. They'd met under the worst possible of circumstances. He was certain she'd never be able to forgive him, or if she did, then she'd certainly never be able to trust him. He had tried to take her life, and in retrospect, it seemed rather selfish.

Fortunately, his decision, incorrect or not, had come to nothing. Kuyou was dead, and so their bargain was nullified. No longer did he have to fear retribution for not completing his job. No longer did he have to look over his shoulder.

And no longer did he have hope for ridding himself of his cursed immortality. He resisted the urge to punch the wall of her apartment, lest she discover his presence prematurely.

He watched as she left the apartment, going off to wherever, and slowly floated away from her, his jet black wings flapping once to propel him skyward. He soared over the district of the city, letting his mind wander far from the mortals down below. Their capacity to rebuild was astonishing. Their resolve was remarkable. In several thousand years, he'd never known people to come together like they were now.

He settled down on one of his favorite places, a radio tower in the center of the district. He folded his wings around him, managing to cloak himself effectively. He sighed quietly as he let his thoughts wonder back to two weeks before, when he'd first met the beautiful blue-haired girl he'd been paid to kill. _Even without her charm as a succubus, I'm sure I'd have been attracted to her_, he thought. _She was so earnest in her desire to protect her friends and save this planet._ And protect them she had. She'd managed to put up enough of a fight to keep him at bay until… Well, until he lost consciousness.

He'd awakened later, to a large headache and an empty chamber that was quickly collapsing. He'd made his escape, secretly hoping the girl had made it to safety as well. Then, the night of the strange disturbance, he'd found her again, hiding her tears as her best friend entered that swirling vortex, never to be seen again. The snow fairy and her mysterious suitor had gone far away, having managed to save their friends and their world. And now that his failure was so thoroughly completed, he was glad Kuyou had died. He couldn't believe he'd sold himself for so low a price. He was ashamed, more than anything.

Sighing, he said to himself, "Never again. Never again will I, Ty'vin, the Crystal Storm, the Holder of History, become someone else's pawn. Never again will I forget who I am, who I have been for millennia. It is time to break the cycle."


End file.
